Mary Lafser

On January 11th, Dede (Mary, but those who know her know she goes by Dede) was scheduled for a fairly routine and simple hysterectomy. She had received an ultrasound  2-3 weeks prior and results showed possible fibroid cysts in both ovaries. When the surgeon began the operation, she discovered instead extensive and aggressively growing cancer.  At this point the surgery could not be performed at that facility, so the surgeon prepared Dede for transfer to St. Mary's to undergo a more complex surgery performed by an OBGYN Oncologist, Dr. Xynos.

On January 12th, Dede underwent an 8+ hour long surgery including the total hysterectomy. The doctor removed a basketball sized tumor from her uterus, several lymph nodes (two of which were the size of tennis balls), and her appendix. They also performed a small bowel resection, large bowel resection, and removed multiple tumors throughout her abdomen that were attached to her diaphragm, liver, and bowel. After the surgery, a cat scan also revealed tumors in her lungs and inside of her liver. She was hospitalized for a total of 10 days. Dede recovered with minimal complications before being sent home on January 20th. 

The results of the surgical biopsies showed Stage IV Malignant Mixed  Mullerian Tumor (MMMT) of the uterus. At this time, the plan is to further recover from surgery at home and later have a port placed in her chest to begin chemotherapy. We (Nicole and Jesse, her daughters) will keep this page updated with her perseverance against this rare disease.